Day In My Life As a SIPA Student!

Ever wondered what it looks like to balance school, work, and extra curricular activities as a final semester grad student? Follow along as I take you through a typical day as someone who likes to stay busy and engaged.

9:00am-11am: Work at the SIPA Admissions Office as a Program Assistant

As a second year student, I secured a position working as a Program Assistant in SIPA’s Office of Admissions through the Assistantship program. Not only is this a way to financially support myself while studying at SIPA, but it gives me the opportunity to connect with individuals interested in applying for one of our degree programs. Assistantships are offered in many forms and students can apply to be considered for a teaching assistant, reader, research assistant, and other roles around campus. To learn more about the types of positions available, I recommend reading this blog post that reviews the different types of roles in greater detail. 

12:00pm-1:00pm: Attend an on-campus Career Chat with a SIPA Alum working in Tech Policy

One of the best parts about being a SIPA student is connecting the vast network of Columbia Alums who volunteer their time to connect with students and speak about their experience post grad. On this day, I got to hear from an alum who entered the private sector post grad to work in tech policy. I’m currently specializing in Technology, Media and Communications, (which is now offered as the Technology Policy concentration), so I love hearing from individuals who work in the tech sector to learn about the opportunities available to new graduates, and how to break into the industry. 

3:10pm-5:00pm: Class - Algorithmic Republic: AI Policy Challenges and Opportunities

Taught by Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, the former National AI Director, this class explores the future of AI regulation through a discussion of the way AI safety and transparency has been addressed in the last few years. This is a great class because it is extremely relevant to the unfolding international conversations about the trends in the AI industry. 

5:00-7:00pm: Catch up on homework

Typical SIPA behavior, spending some time in Lehman library getting ahead on next week’s readings, doing some research for my classes, and making sure I stay on top of work before heading into the weekend! 

7:10pm-9:00pm: Capstone Meeting 

SIPA students, typically those in their second year, participate in a consulting project for a client solving a challenge relevant to their studies. If you’re curious about the types of projects students have worked on in the past, have a look at the Capstone Directory where work is highlighted. 

9:00pm: Dinner with SIPA Classmates

One of the greatest gifts SIPA has offered me is the friendships. Grabbing dinner with the friends I’ve met here is my favorite way to close out a busy day and unwind. On this night, we went to Song’ E Napule in SoHo. I highly recommend the Paccheri Genovese (shown below) if you check it out! And if you have room for dessert… the tiramisu was fantastic too.

Thanks for following along!